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WINTER FIREFLIES

XIXËLLONJAT

By Artur GORISHTI

ALBANIAN NATIONAL CENTER OF CINEMATOGRAPHY - as FIN

First film - Completed 2022

As if he is cleansing his soul, a very old
man is brought back to his memories,
by a story from his past, while begging
forgiveness from himself and the
people he has harmed.

- Year of production
- 2022
- Genres
- First film, Drama
- Countries
- ALBANIA
- Languages
- ALBANIAN
- Director(s)
- Artur GORISHTI
- Writer(s)
- Artur GORISHTI
- Cast
- Luli BITRI
- Producer(s)
- Artur GORISHTI (Silverdream Productions)
- Synopsis
- ‘A very old man brings back by his memories a story from his past, as if he is cleaning his soul. He begs forgiveness from himself and from the people he has done harm.’
  FIREFLIES is a story with no time and in the meantime universal. It happens in a small town of legends, separated in two parts: the New Krule, the urban part of this town; and the Old Krule, the
  castle and old buildings part. In this town among mountains, an old man goes back in time, 35 years ago, reminding an event that has happened only during several months, in the same place.
  This event comes very clear in his mind and then the dream blends with the reality he has lived. This old man, who seems to have been spending his whole life with this episode, looks as if he wants to experience some kind of catharsis during this last night of his life. His physical deformation, his standing on a wheelchair, the old stitches on his face witness a turbulent past. In the center of this story, intertwined through legends, groups of crime, violence, robberies and rewinds of the time; is ‘Jackal’, the son of a small salesman of handmaid dolls. This shop, once the
  happy nest of the children that came from far a way to buy dolls, after the death of Jackal’s father transforms on a crime basis. Jackal acts there with three friends: ‘Blade’, ‘Goat’ and ‘Skull’; a local crime group. They deal with robbery, theft, kidnapping. The situation changes when one day in this ex doll’s shop, now ‘Jackal’s Café’, enters a young woman, Afina. She is accompanied by her tutor, ‘Congressman’.
  ‘Congressman’, although is part of ‘The New Krule’ proposes them that Afina works on their Bar-Café. He aims, through this employment, to become a partner of this group proposing them ‘a new job’. ‘Enough with the jewelry thefts’, he says, ‘If you want more money, here they are’, and puts a dynamite block on the table.
  Afina starts bartending in the ‘Jackal’s Café’. Her presence among these four men raises the tension
  and the conflict between them. The elder of the group, ‘Blade’ looks Afina as a money source and without saying plans to grow close with her. On the other side the relation Afina-Jackal is developing.
  Jackal is left out of the two systems: of the criminal group and of the state system. The same goes on
  for Afina.